


kisses like needles

by yolkpoet



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M, Reincarnation, are you in the right headspace to be in alec's headspace?, can't tag much else without spoilers BIG WINK, no matter who magnus could have from that little box, wanted alec to see it will always be him for magnus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:28:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22215565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yolkpoet/pseuds/yolkpoet
Summary: Alec is doomed to love a Warlock who seventeen thousand other creatures have seen in the throes of passion.(set two years after their marriage)
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/George
Comments: 51
Kudos: 152





	1. one

Alec is treading the edges of his control and he's slipping fast. Sweat drags a line down his nose and wavers there for a second before dropping down on Magnus' chest. His husband's eyes are shut, all his muscles taut, and he grunts as Alec thrusts forward with a particularly pointed snap of his hips. Another hard thrust has Magnus' eyes flying open and his pupils are mere slits with golden, glowing, electric heat taking up the rest of the space. There's a harsh moan and then Magnus' fingernails are digging into Alec's shoulders, scratching up a storm and leaving behind stinging skin in their wake.

"Fuck," Magnus breathes out, but his body is still tense and his fingers are curling around the back of Alec’s neck and using him as an anchor to surge up and bite at Alec’s lips.

Needing air and more flexibility to suitably fuck Magnus’ brains out, Alec has to slap his arms away and then hold his wrists hostage against the bed sheets - putting pressure when Magnus struggles to get his hands back on him. He gathers his husbands wrists and pins them above his head, using his free hand to get a grip on Magnus’ necklaces. He pulls the black strings of them to the side and _presses_ until Magnus lets out a choked moan. His eyes are closed again and Alec thinks he’d do anything to have them open and looking at him just like he did seconds before - so in love and so stupid out of his mind with desire.

“Come on,” Alec whispers roughly, “Look at me.”

If it sounds like begging, Magnus doesn’t comment on it. He simply does what he always does - gives Alec absolutely anything he wants.

“I love you.”

That must let Magnus know he’s close. Alec always feels like an open wound when he’s about to come, like his body can’t contain all the emotions inside and they must spill over to Magnus for safe-keeping.

Magnus strains against the hold on his wrists even as the breath gets knocked out of him with every punctuated thrust of Alec’s hips, but Alec won’t let up until Magnus gets-

“Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me,” Magnus chants, ankles hooking around Alec’s knees to urge him impossibly closer.

And, there it is.

Finally giving in, Alec lets go of Magnus’ necklaces to instead wrap his fingers around his cock, stroking it in rhythm to his last few final thrusts. When they come, it’s together - Magnus’ legs like vices around him and Alec shuddering above him. There’s a suspicious prickle of tears in his eyes as he looks down at his husband who’s flushed pink and smiling lazily. Some days, even years after their marriage, Alec can’t believe he gets to have this. To come home to someone, to kiss the love of his life any time he wants, to exist and be himself and be accepted wholly.

On his worse days, gratitude’s ugly companion - insecurity - is just a little louder. Because, for Alec, there will always be only one man with his heart and after the dies, his heart will be placed neatly back into his chest. And, Magnus might mourn for a hundred years but eventually, someone else will come. Someone stronger, someone better, someone who’ll love him exactly right, and Magnus will once again open his arms up. Spread his legs open. And, someone will put this exact look on his face. Centuries from now, Magnus will do exactly this - reach up and cup a face and whisper, “I love you so much,” and mean it.

It just won’t be Alec’s face. 

"Hey.”

Alec blinks and Magnus is losing that blissed out look just a little, so Alec kisses him. He sinks down and then turns to the side, using the movement to slip out of Magnus - letting a flash of cold magic take care of cleaning them up. He keeps Magnus in the cradle of his arms and kisses him soft and slow until sleep claims him. 

Alec can’t shake the mood the next day and finds himself snapping at Underhill for no reason when the man comes to give him a report. Apologies are quick on his lips but Underhill just graciously waves them off and offers to be there if Alec needs to talk. Instead of taking him up on it, Alec takes a walk through the gardens hoping to clear his head. 

He doesn’t usually linger on mortality these days, not since they got married. But, it’s like some sort of recurrent infection and catches him by surprise every time. He knows Magnus will want to talk about it. He’d been stiff through breakfast and Magnus had given him a lingering kiss as he left, not the usual fleeting peck. Like he was trying to force all the bad thoughts from Alec’s head by the sheer power of his mouth.

It certainly was compelling.

Still. Alec can’t help but think that maybe they brushed past _that_ conversation a little too quickly - all those years ago. Seventeen thousand is a substantial amount. Hell, seventeen hundred had felt catastrophic enough. To think that seventeen thousand different people, things, angels, demons, in-betweens have seen _his_ husband naked and fucked out. It makes something awful clench up in his stomach and no matter how many times he walks around the beautiful gardens of Alicante, the feeling only sinks deeper and deeper. Gets louder.

By the time he’s back from the office, his skin is tingling with a weird sense of urgency he can’t explain. It isn’t until Magnus comes home, minutes after him, that Alec understands why his hands are clenching and unclenching.

“Did you know that I miss the traffic of Brooklyn?” Magnus is saying as he sets down his notebooks and shakes off his jacket, “ _Brooklyn_ , Alexander.”

He looks at Alec with exaggerated horror and then grins, throwing his hands up as he walks towards him.

“That’s it,” he announces, “We’re going on vacation next week. I’m sick of perfect, perfect Idris. I want to be elbow to elbow with sweaty tourists in some overrated city and get all-”

Whatever he has to say next, Alec swallows it up because he’s finally close enough for Alec to grab him by the waist and yank him up against this chest. He channels all his frustration of the day into the kiss, moves his tongue like he wants to crawl _inside_ Magnus, and bit by bit, tension slips off his shoulders. Once the urgency dissipates, he turns the kiss languid and then breaks it off with a sticky _pop_. Magnus stares at him, frozen and mouth open and color high in his cheeks.

Clearing his throat, Magnus straightens his shirt and thumbs at the corner of his mouth.

Alec smiles and moves away towards the kitchen, intent on making them both some tea. His husband is hot on his heels behind him.

“Alexander,” he says hesitantly, “You simply cannot kiss a man like that and not follow through with the implications.”

Playing stupid, Alec frowns and asks, “What implications?”

The affronted look on Magnus’ face as he sputters through accusations is almost worth not actually following through. They end up having a pleasant enough dinner and when they fall into bed, they’re too exhausted to do anything except fit together like puzzle pieces and knock out. It’s for the better, Alec thinks. He’s worried about what he’ll do once he has Magnus naked in front of him again. He's worried about the lengths he’ll go to put a claim on him. That ring on Magnus’ finger is starting to look too thin and warlocks don’t bruise.

And, Alec is starting to feel a little desperate. 

He thinks about giving Jace a call, but he knows their bond would strip Alec a little more bare than he's ready for at the moment. So, wound up and with nowhere to turn, Alec makes an unsolicited visit to the New York Institute and requests a private meeting with the Head. With Izzy walks in, heels clicking loudly as if to punctuate the frown on her face, Alec feels some of his restlessness melt away.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as she shuts the door behind her and comes to sit on the couch next to him. He’s been sulking in her office for long enough to notice all the changes she’s made to it since the last time he was here and the photo of Simon set on one of her book shelves makes him smile.

“Nothing,” he says with a sigh, leaning his elbows on his thighs and then letting his head fall into his hands, “Okay, something’s wrong, but it’s just my stupid, stupid brain.”

Izzy grabs one of his wrists to pull his hands away and waits until he looks at her to say, “As one of the smartest people I know, I hardly doubt that. Now, tell me what’s wrong in simple words or I’m calling your husband.”

The threat of Magnus has Alec readjusting his body to lean towards Izzy. He ends up telling her every absurd, possessive, insecure thought he’s had in the last week and after he’s done, he feels light. But, a bad kind of light. Like he just threw up and might throw up again. Izzy’s gaze is sympathetic and warm and it only makes it worse - almost like it’s validation, like he _should_ be losing his mind over this.

As if reading his mind, Izzy puts on a long-suffering look and says, “I’m not making this face because you’re right. It’s because you’re so, so completely wrong.”

“How do you know that?” Alec says, voice just above a whisper.

“Because, I’ve had the front row seat to your relationship since the beginning and I’ve had the privilege of being a very good friend to my brother’s husband. That alone authorises me to speak on this. Oh, and, also the fact that I’m always right,” she says with a cheeky grin at the end that has Alec huffing out a laugh. It dies as quick as it comes but some of the weight on his chest leaves with it.

“Look,” she speaks up again, reaching out to curl her fingers around his wrist, “It’s unbelievable how much he loves you. I think maybe it even surprises him. And, I see you give back as good as you get. It might be his seventeen thousandth time. It could even have been his millionth time. It wouldn’t matter, because it’s _you_. It’s you for him and him for you. That’s all.”

Alec lets the words wash over him like a comfort blanket and he nods slightly. They sit in silence until Alec feels like he’s put himself together enough to talk about something else. He ends up spending the evening with her and though his mind is as scattered as ever, he does feel shades better as he leaves. As he’s out the door, Izzy calls out to him. 

“I love you, but this is really one of your biggest personality traits.”

“What is?”

“Overthinking.”

Concern shines in his sister’s eyes even as she tries to play it off as a joke, so he simply says, “I love you, too,” and overthinks on his whole way home.

Home smells like garlic as Alec shuts the door and then, very suddenly, it smells like sandalwood as he’s encased in Magnus’ arms. His husband presses his cold nose right into the bend of his neck and breathes in like it’s his first time doing so in weeks. In typical Magnus fashion, it’s a bit overdramatic in contrast to Alec’s two day trip, but in typical Alec fashion, he squeezes back like Magnus’ arms are the only thing holding him together.

“My dear Alexander,” Magnus says, warm breath tickling Alec’s skin, “Next time, I’m coming with you.”

Alec finally detaches himself and looks down at Magnus, cupping his face and giving him a lingering kiss.

“You had clients and I got to see Izzy. I’ve had worse trips,” Alec says with a shrug, “Much longer, too. Remember when I had to go to the San Diego Institute for two months?”

Magnus shudders at that, as if the thought physically repulses him, and says, “You’re right. I just enjoy a theatrical reunion, that’s all.”

At that, Alec quirks an eyebrow and lets his voice drop a few octaves to say, “Theatrical? Oh, we can do theatrical.”

He grabs Magnus’ hand and twists him around in his arm before dipping the warlock - hands on his waist to hold him suspended in the air. Magnus gapes at him and when Alec swings him abruptly back so he can stand upright, he breaks into a wide, open laugh. He looks so magnetic, just standing there in a velvet, blue robe and _slippers_ , for fuck sake, that Alec falls in love for the millionth, billionth time.

And, just like that, the lightness of the trip disappears and even remembering Izzy’s very true, very wise words doesn’t help.

What did it really mean to think of someone as your world and know that the world would keep spinning without you? Would it still be selfish to want to claim it? Mark it? Wreck it so that anyone else who came after you would know what you meant. How substantial you were, if only for a moment.

“Come in, Mr. Theatrical,” Magnus says, grabbing his hand and tugging him along, “Dinner’s just about ready.”

He lets himself be pulled into the kitchen and when he’s instructed to sit on the stool at the counter, he obliges happily. He’s fed bits of food by a fork that Magnus playfully brings close to his mouth only to pull it away, earning himself hands tight on his waist and a warning bite to his jaw. He laughs, right into the skin under Alec’s ear, and then sighs in contentment. Alec wonders why he can’t just let himself enjoy the fact that this man, this absurd, beautiful, kind man, loves him so clearly, so openly. Almost sinking right back into the destructive narrative occupying his mind, he’s distracted instead by a pat to his cheek.

“Go set the table,” Magnus says, licking food off of his thumb and busying himself with plating the dish that smells like garlic - oh, and, butter. Lots of butter. Alec grabs a set of cutlery and heads towards the dining table, but can’t help himself at the last minute. He grabs Magnus’ hand to lick the exact thumb Magnus just licks seconds ago.

“Alexander!” Magnus shouts, but there’s a smile following too close to it for Alec to actually feel reprimanded. In fact, he’s just encouraged to dip back in - Magnus’ hand still in his - and unceremoniously take two of his fingers into his mouth. His husband flushes pink and clears his throat.

“I think,” he says roughly, “I think dinner can wait.”

Alec grins around his fingers. 

For the next few weeks, Alec is actually doing a pretty good job suppressing the self-sabotaging part of his brain and they do end up going on that vacation Magnus wanted. They spend a week in Jakarta and then another week in Bangkok. They stay at absurd resorts and hotels, and hold hands as they walk through back alleys and eat street food. When they get back to Alicante, they have such an annoying, happy glow about them that Jace looks physically nauseous as they relieve him of house-sitting duties.

It’s as close to perfection as his life has ever been.

The morning after they’ve come home, they wake up slowly - pressing lazy, half-asleep kisses on any inch of skin they find at random intervals. It’s Magnus who finally bites the bullet and pulls a groaning Alec out of bed, hip-checking him towards the bathroom as he himself heads to the kitchen.

Alec takes a long, scalding shower and his hair is still dripping as he walks out in boxers - absently running his fingers through wet strands. It smells like waffles and he smiles as he almost reaches the kitchen. He sees a stark, red robe before anything else and he’s about to say, _there you are_ , when he takes one more step and freezes.

Magnus is standing against the counter - statue still but with trembling lips that are mouthing unsaid words - and he’s blinking big, golden eyes at the man cupping his cheek. So achingly gentle and Alec feels his throat dry up. Taking one more hesitant step, he can now see the man’s profile and he feels his body seize - feels like his soul jerks spectacularly, briefly right out of his body - as he recognises something in him.

Blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes boring into Magnus like they’re trying to look enough for a hundred years in mere seconds. They trigger a memoy and it coils around him. Words he's had nightmares about feel like they’re floating above the heads of his husband and the man.

 _If anything will keep me safe_ -

“Magnus,” the man breathes out, fingers now pressing indents into Magnus’ cheek.

 _It’s this picture, close to my heart. All my love_ -

“George,” Magnus whispers and Alec world begins to shatter all around him. 


	2. two

_It’s their first wedding anniversary and Jace officially abandoned him thirty minutes ago after a fairly dramatic stare-off. It seemed his parabatai wanted him to somehow shut down his anxiety so it wouldn’t keep hitting him full blast, but Alec is anxious. Alec has always been an anxious person. Always restless, but so quietly that it looked like tranquility instead. He had expected Jace to be used to a certain level of constant panic, but it seems he’s run his best friend off - most likely to find solace in Clary’s arms like the opportunistic little shit he is._

_So, here Alec is, standing at their balcony and feeling a little twinge of déjà-vu. With dawning horror, he looks back at the lights, the roses, the champagne, and remembers the almost-proposal night with graphic details._

_He can’t believe he set up their surprise anniversary dinner to look like the night of Magnus’ emotional meltdown. The city might be different, the landscape nothing like anything in New York, but the lights are exactly the same as they momentarily distract from the demon towers of Alicante. He’s even somehow placed the roses exactly like he did that night._

_Glancing at his watch, he realizes it’s almost time for Magnus to come back from an appointment and with little grace and a lot of panic, he begins rearranging the set-up. He briefly considers calling Catarina to magic this mistake away, but she’s finally enjoying alone time with Madzie at some beautiful resort in Saint Lucia. He doesn’t exactly want to interfere with that especially since Madzie’s been having a hard time with her powers lately. Oh, and, he doesn’t want to hear Catarina laugh at him for possibly hours and then years to come. It might be counter-productive to the cause._

_He hears a distant jingle of keys. When he’d first noticed that Magnus used a set of keys just the same as Alec, he’d been confused. But, his husband liked a little semblance of mortality in his life and he was a strange creature with strange compulsions. In this moment, he’s eternally grateful for every ounce of weirdness in that warlock’s body because there’s a thud of keys hitting the floor. It buys him enough time to step out of the balcony and shut the door behind him._

_He scrambles to find a random book off their table and perch up on the couch nearest to the door. He hears Magnus pick the keys back up and try the lock again. When the door swings open, Alec tries to casually turn his head towards it._

_“Well, you’re a sight to see,” Magnus says, absently tossing his briefcase near the coatrack and walking over until he can bend down and kiss Alec’s forehead. With a groan, he stretches his arms above his head and settles down on the couch next to Alec - tossing his head back and closing his eyes._

_“Bad day?” Alec asks as he closes the book in his hand and sets it back on the table so he can lean towards the warlock._

_Sighing, Magnus turns his head towards Alec and smiles._

_“A good day, actually,” he says, “Just very long.”_

_Alec smiles back and tries not to nervously glance at the balcony door. Desperate, Alec stalls by being overly inquisitive about Magnus’ client - to the point where his husband is frowning and looking a little put-off. Magnus is just this side of cold as he cuts the conversation off and begins to wonder out loud what he should make for dinner. Needing to undo whatever damage he just did and also keep Magnus away from the balcony, he suggests they eat out for dinner._

_“Like a date,” he adds when Magnus blinks at him and it finally cracks some of that ice._

_“Trying to get lucky, Lightwood?”_

_Alec grins and stands up, holding a hand out for Magnus to take. When his husband places his hand somewhat reluctantly on Alec’s palm, he’s yanked up and his gasp gets lost in Alec’s kiss._

_“Always,” he whispers against Magnus’ lips, “And, it’s Lightwood-Bane. My husband is very particular about that.”_

_“Sounds charming.”_

_“Oh, he is,” Alec says, placing his hands on Magnus’ waist and then sliding them around until he can grip his own wrist and lock Magnus in, “Needed the threat of an apocalypse to lock him down.”_

_Magnus laughs at that and rubs his hands up and down Alec’s shoulders._

_“So, where do you want to get dinner?”_

_“Maybe Locanda Dell'Isola Comacina, if you’re up for a night in Lake Como,” Alec suggests and then frowns as he tries to remember that one sushi place Magnus loved on their sixth or seventh date, “Or, maybe-”_

_“Maybe the balcony?”_

_Alec freezes, mouth still open, and contemplates how he’s going to lie his way out of this. The twinkle in Magnus’ eyes, however, lets him know he’s well and truly caught._

_With a sigh, he asks, “Okay, who told you?”_

_“The florist we both call when we want to make up after a fight is my friend, too. She called because she wanted to know what exactly you’d done to warrant twenty dozen roses.”_

_Groaning, Alec slumps forward to rest his head on Magnus’ shoulder and he feels Magnus’ laugh right against his ear._

_“Oh, Alexander,” he whispers sweetly, turning his head to press a kiss against Alec’s hair._

_Magnus says_ Alexander _like someone might say_ darling _. He says_ Alexander _like this is his first love. Like hr hadn’t spent centuries being hurt and used and left behind. It always surprises Alec how much affection Magnus is capable of - as if it’s as infinite and resilient as his magic. As if this universe could chew Magnus up and spit him out a million times, but it would never take away his proclivity for kindness._

_“Since I’m sober enough to actually appreciate what you’ve done this time, you are free to whisk me away to the balcony.”_

_Straightening up, Alec looks down at Magnus’ smirk and can’t resist kissing it and making it melt into a dopey smile._

_“Come on,” Magnus says, pulling away and grabbing Alec’s hand as he walks towards the balcony. He waves his fingers so the doors open right as they’re stepping through them and Alec feels it when Magnus tenses up._

_His eyes are wide as they take in everything on the balcony and he’s so still and silent that Alec begins to worry. But, then Magnus is turning to him and his eyes are shining with tears. He begins to mouth something but ends up swallowing roughly instead._

_“I love you,” he says simply and the words hold tenfold the weight they ought to, but Alec is more than happy to bear it._

_“I love you, too,” Alec says and they share a tender kiss before Magnus starts moving around the balcony marvelling at every little detail. He’s laughing - nearly_ giggling _\- and it’s so endearing that Alec can’t do anything but watch with a stupid smile on his face. All the lights of Alicante and the twinkles of the light bulbs on the balcony and Magnus is still the brightest thing he’s ever seen. Magnus lets out a delighted screech as he discovers a bottle of his favorite champagne._

_“Alexander Gideon Lightwood,” he says with a big grin as he cradles the bottle to his chest, “Will you do me the honor of marrying me twice?”_

_“You’re an idiot,” Alec says, but his voice is too soft to mean anything except,_ of course, I will. _Their lips meet again, almost like a compulsion._

_Alec thinks he’s living in a dream._

Alec thinks he’s having a nightmare - a cruelly vivid, meticulously crafted, horror movie caliber nightmare. It’s like the devil himself picked apart an absolute worst case scenario and now Alec has to live in it. Or, wake up. The next steps he takes are automatic, almost like he’s been possessed, but his chest is constricting so awfully tight as George begins to lean in. When he walks fully into the kitchen, it takes Magnus five torturous seconds to notice him and in those seconds, Alec heart sinks a thousand times over. 

“Alexander,” Magnus says, trying to instantly put space between him and George but he’s already pressed against counter. So, he moves to the side and his shaking hands curl behind him on the marbled countertop as he stands there looking from George to Alec. As if he can’t decide who deserves his attention more. 

Alec is happy to make the decision for him. 

In long, sure strides, he comes to stand next to Magnus until they’re flush together - sharing body heat and hopefully some stability. 

“Is this George?” Alec asks - half hoping the shock of Magnus confirming it will wake him up and prove this is just a nightmare. 

“I,” Magnus begins, licking his lips and swallowing hard, “I… I don’t understand how, but it is,” wet eyes turn back to the soldier, “You _are_.”

George glances briefly at where Alec is pressed into Magnus’ side and does some nervous swallowing of his own. Whatever he decides as he’s staring at the floor, it has him neatly squaring his shoulders and folding his hands behind his back. He looks five inches taller and like he belongs in an Uncle Sam poster. 

“It feels as though I am waking up a second after I died in the field,” George says, “I have no idea where I am. Nothing around me makes sense, but when you walked into the room, I-”

“Wait,” Alec says, a little too loud, and he takes in a deep breath to try and calm himself, “This could be a demon or a shapeshifter, Magnus. We have to take him to the Institute.”

“Demon?” George asks roughly, frowning and looking to Magnus for an explanation, “Shapeshifter?” 

“How do _you_ explain being brought back to life a hundred years in the future?”

“A hundred years?” George asks, almost under his breath. 

“A hundred years,” Alec echoes and he turns towards Magnus, “We have to take him to the Institute, Magnus. Right now.”

“It’s him, Alexander,” Magnus says, still looking at George, “I checked for any glamour or demonic imprint, trust me. It’s the first thought I had. If anyone was going to toy with me using my past, I’d imagine they’d use George or Ragnor or even Camille. So, trust me, I know. I’ve had similar things happen to me in the past. This isn’t that.”

“So, what? We just eat breakfast together?” Alec hisses out, “We still need to figure out why he’s here and out of his timeline. We have to find out if something like this has happened before.”

“It could be reincarnation,” Magnus says, “Brother Zachariah has told me about it, but I never believed it could be true.”

“And, it might not be. Someone’s messing with _time_ , Magnus.”

Finally beginning to gather himself together, Magnus sighs and looks at Alec, letting their fingers intertwine where they’re pressed together. 

“You’re right. We need to go to the Institute. This can’t possibly be real,” Magnus says and Alec is about to fish his phone out of his pocket to warn Izzy of their arrival when George speaks up.

“It could be real,” he says, wearing his conviction like a war medal on his chest.

“You believe that you were just magically brought back to life and dropped in the middle of our home and there’s nothing else we need to worry about?” Alec asks.

“I believe in God, mister,” George says sternly, “I believe in angels. I believe that someone took mercy on a soul.”

“Then, I’m sure you won’t mind if we put that belief to the test,” Alec says dryly, pulling his phone out and searching for Izzy’s contact. 

“I will not,” George says and Alec doesn’t have to look up to know the certainty in his voice is reflected on his face.

  
  


“What?” Izzy asks for the millionth time and Alec is steadily losing his patience.

“Magnus’ soldier boyfriend from like a hundred years ago,” Alec says slowly, as if enunciating is going to help any of this make sense, “Popped up in our kitchen this morning looking like he _wasn’t_ shot to death. Wearing mundane clothes but doesn’t remember anything except his old life.”

There’s silence on the other end and then Izzy is asking, “What does Magnus think of this?”

Alec glances at where Magnus is flipping through a book that’s falling apart at the seams, frowning down at it, and where George is sitting stiffly at the other side of the room, frowning at Magnus. 

“He thinks he’s really George. Says he checked for glamours and everything.”

“Wow,” she breathes out, “I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

“Magnus thinks it’s reincarnation and if anyone’s going to know anything about that, it’ll be the angels. We can’t exactly call upon them, so we’re going to need all the information from the archives instead.”

“This is so crazy,” Izzy says, “A former lover shows up seemingly from the dead exactly as you’re struggling with Magnus’ immortality.”

“Yeah, the irony isn’t exactly lost on me.”

“Oh, Alec,” she says gently, but Alec can’t stand being placated right now.

He ends the call abruptly by saying, “We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Bringing his phone back down, he begins to text Jace and Clary to ask for their presence at the Institute. He ends up texting Catarina, too. As he’s typing, he hears George quietly say, “I like the color on your eyes.”

Looking up, he sees Magnus startle and then gape at George. Almost like he’s just realized he’s lined his eyes with an electric gold, his fingers fly to his face and hover right under his lower lashes. He’s flushing pink and he stutters as he says, “Oh, um, thank you.”

George smiles and it’s as stiff as the rest of him, but it carries a certain fondest that’s hard to miss - even from the distance Alec is standing at. 

“All the colors,” George says, eyes briefly following the lenght of Magnus’s red robe, “They’re very becoming on you. Much more than that horrible green of our uniforms.”

Magnus chuckles at that, self-consciously crossing his legs. 

“I’m sure I must be a sight to see outside of war,” he says self-deprecatingly, looking down and fidgeting with his book. He misses the way George’s eyes soften, the way his shoulders lose their tension, the way he leans forward like he can’t help it. 

“You were a sight to see at any moment,” he says, “Anywhere at all.”

Magnus seems lost for words at that and Alec - growing increasingly sick of watching his husband being flirted with - finally steps into the room and comes to stand by Magnus’ couch. Magnus reaches for him as soon as he’s close enough and he gives his hand for the warlock to squeeze. 

“Izzy’s expecting us,” he informs simply and Magnus uses Alec’s hand to pull himself off the couch. 

“Let me just change and we can go,” Magnus says and when Alec frowns, he lowers his voice, “I just don’t want to shock him unnecessarily by magically putting on an outfit.” 

He smiles as Alec nods understandingly and he presses a brief kiss to Alec’s cheek as he goes. In his absence, Alec is left to carry the entire weight of George’s unwavering stare. Cobalt blue eyes are dissecting Alec inch by inch and it’s making his skin crawl. He almost wants to tell the soldier that he’s a hundred years too late and if he’s going to magically be reincarnated, he was going to have to live his second chance at life somewhere else. Preferably Siberia. 

Magnus walks back into the room and saves Alec from actually saying something that petty. He’s changed into one of his quieter outfits - a black henley and black jeans, but his boots are clunky and have a dozen golden buckles on them to match the exact shade of his eyeliner. And, to honor the single streak of red in his undercut, he’s put on a necklace with bloody charms hanging off of it. 

Alec thinks briefly to the picture in Magnus’ box - his uniform and his flat, slicked back hair and his rigid stance. The contrast was jarring enough to Alec, but George doesn’t seem fazed by it at all. His eyes are warm and his smile is achingly soft as he takes Magnus in, drinks him up with no regard to anything else. Even the portal Magnus opens up takes a second to catch George’s attention. But, when it does, his eyes go wide. 

“Bane,” he breathes out, the sparkly yellow of the portal reflecting on his big eyes, “What on earth _are_ you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since i can't find the actor who played george in the flashbacks, i've casted charlie hunman in the role based solely on [this picture](https://img5.goodfon.com/wallpaper/nbig/d/e8/charlie-hunnam-fon-aktior-muzhchina.jpg) and i will not be entertaining futher discussion on the matter, thank u. ENJOY THE ANGST!!

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: [@@@](https://twitter.com/softbanes)


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